Please find attached the Secondary ELA Newsletter for January 2023. Share with interested parties in your networks.
Thank you,
Naomi
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Supplemental standards have been developed for two English language arts courses: 1) Humanities and 2) Professional and Technical Communication. These standards supplement the Utah Core Standards for English Language Arts and have been created to provide Utah educators with guidance on the specific knowledge and skills for students to learn when enrolled in these two courses. USBE staff is seeking 30-day public feedback to gather stakeholder input to guide finalizing these standards. This public feedback window is open December 14, 2022 to January 13, 2023.
Supplemental Standards and Public Comment Survey for Humanities<https://forms.gle/3bEUuwJXeC5dYFwL6>
Supplemental Standards and Public Comment Survey for Professional and Technical Communication<https://forms.gle/vdjAdGCXWkUrcNJq6>
If you have any questions about the standards or the survey, please contact naomi.watkins(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:naomi.watkins@schools.utah.gov>
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Please find the November 2022 Secondary ELA newsletter attached. Feel free to share with other interested educators.
Thank you!
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Utah State Board of Ed. Student Advisory Council (SAC) Applications Open
As you may know we have a Student Advisory Council that provides recommendation to the Utah State School Board. We have open seats this year in state board voting districts 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, and 14, which are primarily Weber Co. to Davis Co., West side of Salt Lake Co., and Provo to Southern Utah (minus Washington)-see map at this link<https://citygate.utleg.gov/legdistricting/comments/plan/177/12>. We would appreciate you sharing this information with the appropriate personnel in your LEA to get the word out for students to apply to serve on this council. It is a great opportunity for Juniors!
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It's that time of year! We are looking for high school juniors from any academic standing, experience, or background to apply and join the Student Advisory Council (SAC) for the next two years!
The Student Advisory Council advises the state board of education on the student perspective to everything the board is doing including: standards for core courses like social studies and English language arts, student impacts of board regulations, teacher licensing and preparation, school safety and mental health, education legislation, etc.
These 15 students have direct exposure to state board members, the state superintendent, legislators, and so much more. It's a really unique and great opportunity for a student to offer their opinion and perspective to the State Board regarding how to make education in Utah better.
The SAC is comprised of one student from each state board member's voting district and half the SAC is open each year for new applications.
This year we are looking for students from state board voting districts 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, and 14.
A student can find their home address at the following link<https://citygate.utleg.gov/legdistricting/comments/plan/177/12> to find out which state board voting district they live in. If they live in any of the state board voting districts listed above they are eligible to apply.
Applications are due Friday Sept. 2nd can be filled out at this link: https://usbe.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4URR9BuEEgTOYuy .
Please note that students may respond to the short answer questions in writing or upload a video response in the application.
If you have any questions please reach out to the SAC Advisor Jeff Van Hulten at Jeffrey.vanhulten(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:Jeffrey.vanhulten@schools.utah.gov>
Thanks for passing this along to the students!
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Hello, Secondary ELA Colleagues:
The August 2022 Secondary ELA Newsletter is available to view<https://www.canva.com/design/DAFJCJCxdAU/kw47a15LOvJEWKSvtApkWw/view?utm_co…> online or via the attachment. Please feel free to share with applicable educators.
Thanks so much,
Naomi
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
Annual Core Standards Survey
As part of the Utah State Board of Education's Core Standards process, we conduct an Annual Core Standards Survey<https://usbe.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Tnx3cCYjx6VbnM> to get stakeholder feedback to help us to improve our standards and supports. The annual survey is now open until August 20th. Please share this opportunity with educators, parents, and other stakeholders to provide them the opportunity to respond and share their insights. We appreciate your help in sharing your experience as well as sharing this opportunity with others.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
If you are looking for some new ideas on teaching Shakespeare in your classes, be sure to join us at the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s “Teaching Shakespeare: Ditch the Desk and Speak the Speech” this July. This course is aimed at providing active and engaging classroom approaches to language arts and theatre teachers and others who teach Shakespeare's text. The class will help you get out from behind the desk and explore active-learning strategies to hook student engagement with Shakespeare's text.
Participants will be able to demonstrate their understanding of teaching Shakespeare in the classroom by participating in various exercises and activities surrounding Shakespeare’s text and exploring the curriculum created by the instructor.
* This course will consist of direct instruction, interaction with Festival company, learning activities and assessments that can be replicated by participants in Language Arts classes, Theatre classes, or other authentic educational settings.
* The instructor will provide lesson plans and handouts and assessments as resources for participants.
* All course materials and instruction will be geared toward teachers who can take them directly back to the classroom and make them applicable for their teaching situation and students.
The best part? The course includes a ticket to four (4!) Utah Shakespeare Festival plays. See the attached course outline for an idea of the schedule.
If “Teaching Shakespeare” isn’t what you’re looking for, but you want to come to USF for professional learning, check out the other education program option at the festival this summer.
For general information, you can visit the USF Education<https://www.bard.org/about/education/camps-and-classes/?fbclid=IwAR0-TR--YM…> webpage, reach out to educationprograms(a)bard.org<mailto:educationprograms@bard.org>, or for “Teaching Shakespeare” questions you can contact the instructor, Shawnda Moss, directly at: bsmossfam(a)gmail.com<mailto:bsmossfam@gmail.com>.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
See below for an opportunity – direct your questions to William Pollett, please.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary English Language Arts & Library Media Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
(801) 538-7616
naomi.watkins(a)schools.utah.gov<mailto:naomi.watkins@schools.utah.gov>
Dear Teachers, (Please share this with all of interest)
It has been a tough couple of years and we all need some help in these difficult times. Writing is central to help and we need to write more and teach more writing.
Please join us this year for the Wasatch Range Writing Project at Weber State University from June 6th to the 23rd to recharge yourself and your writing and teaching. We will have incredible presenters such as acclaimed authors/teachers Ashley Farmer and Christian McKay Heidicker, in addition to teacher/naturalist and writer Susan Snyder, and of course, you and your colleagues. We will meet Mondays through Thursdays from 10:am to 2:30 for the three weeks this June at the Weber State University Ogden Campus.
Because of a generous grant from the Ogden City School Foundation and the support of the Weber State University’s Masters in English program the tuition is paid for you and you will receive three graduate level credit hours upon completion.
Enrollment and registration are a little tricky this year but please persevere and join us for this year’s Writing Project. Please register on the Weber State Teacher Training webpage<https://continue.weber.edu/professional/teachertraining.aspx>. Educators need to register for the MENG 6230 (CRN 12091) course and MENG students need to register for the MENG 6231 (CRN 12092) course. (Note: Some scrolling is required to find the correct course.)
Attached is a one-sheet with registration instructions as well as instructions for setting up a Wildcat Username and password to access Canvas.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns and plan on starting the summer writing and recharging the well of help and hope with us at the Wasatch Range Writing Project.
Sincerely,
William Pollett
WRWP Director
WSU English
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William Pollett
Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities
Department of English
Weber State University
Elizabeth Hall, room #268
Ogden, UT 84408-1904
Office: 801-626-6964<tel:801-626-6964>
Website: (www.weber.edu/cah<http://www.weber.edu/cah>)
Attached are two flyers about this summer's Standards Implementation Institute to share with your colleagues.
The first flyer is specific to Secondary ELA. The second flyer is general information about the entire institute.
Naomi Watkins, Ph.D.
Secondary ELA and Library Media Specialist
Utah State Board of Education
801-538-7616